On a cold winter day in Holladay, Utah, the life of 80-year-old Steven John Poulos, a White male, was tragically cut short. On January 14, 2006, the World War II veteran was found in the basement of his home, having been shot in the back. His family, who discovered him, was plunged into a state of disbelief and sorrow. They remembered him as a kind and friendly man, someone who would welcome anyone into his home. His loved ones struggled to comprehend how a man who had survived being shot five times by a German machine gunner during the Normandy invasion could meet such a violent end in the presumed safety of his own house.
The investigation into the death of the well-known former car salesman quickly focused on a man and a woman who had been seen being dropped off by a taxi at the Poulos residence that day. It is believed they had expressed interest in a car that Steven was selling. His family suspects that the duo robbed him, forced him into the basement, and then fatally shot him before stealing the vehicle. This theory gained traction as police began to track the suspects.
The primary suspects were identified as 26-year-old Alicia Wingate Cardall of Salt Lake City and 18-year-old Aaron Millenson of Englewood, Colorado. Investigators were led to Cardall after tracing a phone call she made to the Poulos home on the day of the incident. Cell phone records then led authorities on a chase that ended in Kansas on January 25, 2006. In a dramatic turn of events, both Cardall and Millenson were killed in a shootout with police.
Despite the deaths of the main suspects, a perplexing piece of evidence emerged. Ballistics tests revealed that the gun Millenson was carrying during the shootout in Kansas was not the weapon used to kill Steven Poulos. Nevertheless, law enforcement officials maintained that Cardall and Millenson remained the primary suspects in the case. For the Poulos family, the matter was considered closed, as they believed the individuals responsible for Steven's death had been brought to a form of justice.
